If you are a professional, you have had some instruction or training in negotiation skills. What if I were to tell you that the training you received made you a weaker negotiator?

Negotiation is a basic human activity that arises out of wants, desires, needs, and disputes. You want something I have.  I want to trade for something you have. You believe I wronged you, and you want damages. As organized collections of people, we negotiate terms of exchange.

In The Seven Tensions of Negotiation, you'll discover how to simply say 'maybe not' and leverage the seven tensions of negotiation to your advantage. By using this process, you will master the art of negotiation by developing the following essential skills:

- Reducing corporate waste from litigation expenses
- Preventing costly battles
- Learning how to create power from tension

The seven tensions will help you master stress to dramatically improve your negotiation outcomes when the stakes are high.

Cash Nickerson is chairman of AKKA North America's Business Unit. He was President, CFO, General Counsel, and the second largest shareholder of PDS Tech prior to its purchase by AKKA Technologies. Previous roles include attorney and marketing executive for Union Pacific Railroad, associate and then partner at Jenner & Block in Chicago, and chairman and CEO of an internet company. Mr. Nickerson, author of several books, is an avid writer and speaker on the workplace, jobs, and the economy. Mr. Nickerson is the founder and president of the David H. Nickerson Foundation, which supports prostate cancer research.

In addition to his leadership on the Board of Trustees, Mr. Nickerson serves on the School of Law National Council and International Council of the Whitney R. Harris World Law Institute. He is chair of both the Dallas-Fort Worth and Austin-San Antonio Regional Cabinets and chaired the North and Central Texas Regional Campaign for Leading Together: The Campaign for Washington University. Mr. Nickerson is the recipient of the Dallas-Fort Worth Regional Award (2009), the Global Philanthropy Award for the Harris Institute Crimes Against Humanity Initiative (2010), the School of Law Distinguished Alumni Award (2013), and the Founders Day Distinguished Alumni Award (2014). Mr. Nickerson earned his bachelor of art degree from Carleton College and his Master of Business Administration and Juris Doctor from Washington University.